As candidates prepared for their first debate, Kellie Leitch took the lead in the race for the federal Conservative Party’s leadership, according to a new Mainstreet Postmedia poll.

The poll, which surveyed 5,066 Canadians on Nov. 5 and 6, and has a 2.55-per-cent margin of error, found Leitch leads the 12-candidate race with 19 per cent of support.

Leitch has positioned herself as “Canada’s Donald Trump,” a release from Mainstreet said.

“There are a number of parallels between Leitch and Trump: both are anti-establishment candidates that have been accused of pandering to xenophobia,” Mainstreet president Quito Maggi said in a statement.

Looking at just the Prairies, Leitch is tied with O’Toole atop the pack, with 16 per cent support.

Saskatoon’s Brad Trost was far behind in the poll, with three per cent support both in the Prairies and Canada-wide.

The candidates had a chance to make a strong impression on Wednesday, when all 12 were scheduled to appear in the two-hour leadership debate at Saskatoon’s Delta Bessborough hotel. The financial incentive to perform well at the debate was substantial. Several candidates jumped into the race over the last few weeks and have to play catch-up on fundraising, so a strong performance could help generate much-needed donations from members.

Leadership hopefuls will need to pony up $100,000 to make it to the leadership election on May 27, 2017. At least $25,000 of the $50,000 entry fee was required to enter the race and participate in the first debate, with the second $25,000 instalment required before candidates can get a copy of the membership list. A $50,000 refundable compliance deposit is also due by the end of the year.

At least a couple of the leadership candidates could drop out of the race before the Dec. 31 deadline for the $50,000 compliance deposit, if they are not polling well or struggling to collect donations.

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